Senior/Lead Robotics Software Engineer - Linux/Kernel Development

Job Description

Are you passionate about making a difference in people's lives through groundbreaking products and services ? Look no further! Protectol Health is a pioneering pharma-tech company with a holistic approach that spans conventional pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, nutrients, and business safety. Our dedication to the value of "Life matters" is not just a slogan – it's ingrained in every facet of our work culture and offerings.

With dedicated divisions in Pharma, Technology, Nutraceuticals, Nutriments, and Business Safety, we drive impactful research and development activities that redefine industries and touch lives. Our operational footprint extends across the GCC countries and India, allowing us to reach and transform communities on a grand scale.

If you're enthusiastic about creating a positive impact and wish to be a part of an organization that values and prioritizes lives, Protectol Health welcomes you. Join us in our mission to shape a healthier present and future. Your expertise and passion will find a meaningful home here.

Roles and Responsibilities

As an Embedded Firmware Engineer, you will be responsible for:

● Leading the firmware development for our product line of safety and medical devices.

● Designing, developing, testing, and maintaining embedded firmware.

● Collaborating with cross-functional teams to define software requirements, specifications, and architectures based on product requirements and industry standards.

● Implementing firmware solutions that comply with ATEX certification, IEC 61508, and Functional Safety (SIL standards) for devices used in hazardous locations.

● Conducting thorough testing and validation of firmware to ensure reliability, accuracy, and compliance with safety standards.

● Optimizing firmware for power efficiency and performance to meet the life of portable and battery-powered devices.

● Implement firmware algorithms for sensor calibration, data processing, and user interface interactions.

● Assisting in hardware-software integration, debugging, and troubleshooting to ensure seamless functionality of the devices.

● Collaborating with Quality Assurance and Product Validation teams to ensure the highest quality of firmware deliverables.

● Participating in code reviews and providing constructive feedback to improve code quality and maintainability.

● Keeping abreast of emerging technologies, industry trends, and advancements in embedded systems for continuous improvement and innovation.

Skills and Qualifications:

● Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.

● 3+ years of experience in embedded firmware development for portable and wireless gas detectors and docking stations.

● Proficiency in C/C++ programming languages for embedded systems.

● Hands-on experience with a complete product development cycle is an add-on.

● Experience with STM32/STM8/ MSP430 or any other low-power microcontrollers for the development of low-powered devices.

● Experience in reading and optimizing analog data in various types of ADCs.

● Understanding of ATEX certification requirements and compliance.

● Understanding and practical experience with Functional Safety standards (SIL2/3 standards) in the development of safety-critical systems is an add-on.

● Experience with coding standards. (eg: Misra-C) Familiarity with System architectures and communication protocols like I2C, UART, SPI, etc. Knowledge of sleep modes and low-power optimization techniques for battery-operated devices.

● Experience in developing and using custom segment LCDs (TN, STN, etc.) used in battery-powered ultra-low power devices.

● Experience with software development tools, version control systems, and bug-tracking systems. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.

● Excellent communication and teamwork skills.

● Advantages for individuals who thrive in a startup setting.

Work Culture

At Protectol Health, we prioritize our diverse and talented team. We offer flexible work arrangements and resources for well-being to support our employees' personal and professional growth. By putting people first, we attract and retain top talent and drive innovation toward our mission of improving health and well-being

Technical Lead (Embedded Software - Linux)

Job Responsibilities:

Lead a team of software/Linux development engineers working on microcontroller firmware development, Linux platform drivers and IOT solutions. Should be able to guide team members, resolve technical roadblocks and deliver project commitments. Will be the go-to person and first-level escalation point for all technical issues faced by the team. Looking for someone with 6+ years in the embedded industry and a passion to build a core team in a growing company. Team size will vary from 6 to 12 people, mainly firmware and Linux engineers.

The selected candidate for this role will be reporting to the software director/manager in the organization.

• Work with firmware and application architects to create a project execution plan
• Review project proposals for execution scope & timelines
• Lead embedded software development activities by the team
• Work with QA teams to resolve bugs and ensure release readiness
• Work with h/w design and PM teams to ensure smooth execution and timely delivery of projects

The main responsibilities of this role are:

Technical:

• Strong programming skills (C, C++, assembly)
• Linux development experience (porting & platform drivers)
• Expert-level knowledge of embedded microcontroller & microprocessor-based systems
• Prior experience in delivering critical modules for microcontroller projects
• Good understanding of commonly used embedded communication protocols
• Good understanding of common embedded peripherals, interfaces & sensors
• Experience working on Real-Time systems (RTOS)
• Should be able to quickly learn new technologies and enable the team on the same
• Should be able to work with minimal technical guidance

Leadership:

• This role requires excellent communication skills
• Strong analytical & problem-solving skills
• Should be able to lead junior engineers by providing technical mentoring
• Owns task division, task allocation and tracking within the team
• Require multi-tasking and time management skills
• Prior experience working with overseas clients
• Periodically report progress to management

Other desirable skills:

Knowledge of Python

Position Overview:

This position is part of highly skilled fimrware team that do software board bring up of bare silicon for next generation products. In order to write system software for embedded electronic products, this position requires academic background in electronics engineering to understand hardware concepts such as digital logic, schematics, and microprocessor communications to develop effective embedded software.

Candidate should have complete knowledge of Software development cycle from architecture definition to the implementation.

Responsibilities:

• Must wear multiple hats from analyzing field and factory reported issues to software integration.
• Be a liason for troubleshooting and debugging complex systems and identifying the root cause.
• Develop detailed design documents and customer facing application notes for the system and IOT features for Mobile routers.
• Act as a product lead and be part of bigger team in software bring up.   
• Ability to work on Low level software such as bootloaders and understanding of low level functional blocks is a must.
• Work on Linux kernel and configuration.
• Write or port device drivers for Ethernet, USB, GPIO, LED, Bluetooth, Accelormeter, LCD and touch screen.
• Debug stability issues in data routing between WAN and LAN interfaces.
• Work with Software QA with test plan and execution.
• Work with Hardware team to identify and root cause stability problems.

Experience/Requirements:  

• Demonstrable knowledge of C, C++, Assembly programming skills
• Overall 10+ years of experience in embedded environment preferabily Linux.
• Board bring up proficiency with bootloaders and other low level software, must be very good with debugging techniques.
• Experience in TCP/IP networking is must for trouble shooting throughput and other traffic issues.
• Driver experience with I2C, SPI, UART, LCD, Ethernet, PCIe is a plus.
• Experience with low level debugging using JTAG.
• Experience with Makefiles, and build environments such as PTXDIST, Yocto and Buildroot.    
• Experience with version control such as git and svn.
• Good communication skills and team player.
• Ability to work independently and autonomously to meet deadlines, in a fast-changing environment.

Education:

• Bachelors in Electronics & Communication or equivalent
• 6-10 yrs experience in embedded software development
• Hands-on embedded C skills (mandatory)
• Experience with any microcontrollers MCU (mandatory) – Renesas/ Infineon/ Cypress/ ST-Micro /TI / Microchip
• Experience with any of peripherals & communication protocols usage in application development (mandatory) – UART, I2C, SPI, I2S, CAN, USB, ADC, DAC, EEPROM, Flash memory
• Experience with any RTOS – FreeRTOS, Azure RTOS, ThreadX
• Experience with any networking &  connectivity modules (preferred & added advantage) – Ethernet, WiFi, BLE, MQTT, COAP
• Exposure to any IoT frameworks (desirable not mandatory) – IoTivity, AWS IoT, Azure IoT
• Experience with any device driver development, driver optimisation (desirable not mandatory)
• Good ability to read data sheets & technical manuals

Responsibilities and Duties
The team leader will be leading a team of Hardware engineers, firmware and testing engineers. Being a team leader, you will primarily be responsible for fast and accurate delivery from the team which might even include handholding of team members whenever needed. Embedded team would be responsible for the following:
Hardware Design including

• Circuit design as per design requirements
• Schematic capture in the tool
• CAD layout
• QA/QC/functional testing
• PCB assembling and rework
• Lab inventory management
• Component procurement.

Firmware Design Including

• Firmware Design and architect
• Software Development
• Firmware Testing
• Code management over svn

Other Responsibilities

• The team leader would also be responsible for architecting the system, creating detailed design documents as per requirement and maintaining quality control of all the deliverables.
• The team leader would also be required to create a detailed test plan and list of test cases to be executed and if needed, create proper environment for the same.
• Ownership of the ‘ground up’ design and architecture of embedded software for real time applications.
• Decomposition of designs in to structured modules/functions ready for implementationby yourself and the team.
• Hands on development in C of new ARM based embedded software for a range of products currently under development
• Ensure quality of software using appropriate methods(Code Review, Static Analysis, Unit Test etc.) and application of suitable Coding Standards
• Maintain, update and enhance existing embedded software written in C
• Documentation of software products, development and execution of test plans
• Work closely with other members of the engineering team to assist with the correct choice of processors and supporting hardware

Required Experience, Skills and Qualifications

• Experience of 8+ years in field of embedded systems designing and developement.
• Familiar with usage of various LAB instruments.
• Strong fundamentals of electronics (Digital and analog) are must.
• Well versed with circuit designing and HW debugging
• Analog and Digital Circuit designing: familiarity with micro-controllers, memories, communication interfaces, op-amps, comparators, relays, inductors and capacitors, Handling EMI and Noise issues associated with circuits.
• Understanding of BLE protocols will be required.
• Understanding of scientific methodologies of experimentation, data-gathering and interpretation and hypothesis.
• Understanding of basic architecture, debugging of sensors.
• Experienced in embedded-C coding, memory allocations.
• Experience with any RTOS designing preferably with FreeRTOS at least with Semaphores, SW Timers, synchronisation and event handlings, task handling and prioritization.
• Understanding of micro-controller architecture, programming and debugging methodologies, interrupt-handling.
• Experience with any of the IDEs and debuggers for ARM architecture.
• Basic understanding of assembly programing of ARM architecture
• Understanding of basic peripherals like UART, CAN, I2C, Timers, Counters, PWMs, ADCs, DAC.
• Experience/knowledge in IoT devices (sensor, gateway, cloud) handling.
• Familiarity with CAD tools for schematics and layout generation.
• Experience on MS-Office.
• Familiarity in understanding and creating various test plans and documents.

General Skills Needed/ Requirements:

• Strong knowledge of components and should be able to suggest the team with right componenet
• Candidate must have a knack to use his/her technical knowledge to give it back to society.
• Candidates passionate to bring a change in society will be preferred with no compromise on pay check.
• Candidates must be open to work with communities to get feedback on product features so that products are best fit for social upliftment.
• Candidates must be open to travel to needy communities and should not hesitate to get his/her hands dirty to bring a change to the communities.
• Candidates must find associated with the cause and mission of the company.
• Open to work in open startup culture and give his/her 100%.
• Analytical reasoning and fact-based brainstorming capabilities will be highly preferred.
• Ready to relocate to Gurugram.
• Occasional field visits.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical or Electronics Engineering with 1-3 years of relevant experience.
• Highly experienced in Embedded C, C++ coding as per MISRA standards
• Experience in firmware programming for 8 bit, 16 bit and 32 bit controllers.
• Knowledgeable in Linker Scripts, Make files & firmware debugging using JTAG or on the UART console. 
• Experienced in Communication peripherals like SPI, UART, I2C, CAN, etc.
•  

• Ideation, designing, prototyping, and developing as per product requirements.

• Expertise in system architecture and design for Embedded software systems.
• Develop modular Embedded Code to port into different projects.
• Experience on Real Time Systems and Scheduling mechanisms
• Development experience in "middleware" / “application” / Low layer.
• Experience with developing embedded code for networking technologies like TCP/IP and UDP would be a plus.
• Document state machine diagrams, flow charts to understand the system architecture
• Working closely with Design teams to understand Hardware Implementation.
• Develop Test methods, in some cases automated test cases to test the firmware code and support hardware engineers.
• Use Debuggers, oscilloscopes, power supplies, and other necessary electrical tools to debug the code for problem-solving.
• Excellent reading skills for complete understanding of technical documents such as Processor Architecture Specifications and MCU hardware manuals, schematics etc.
• Ability to generate ideas in response to complex issues and execute on solutions.
• Python programming is a big plus.

• Product and Application Development in C.
• Develop and debug Applications and Firmware in/for Embedded Linux Environment
• Design and development of real-time, multi-processor / multi-controller systems.
• Module-level design with proper software design practices

Required Qualifications:

• 4+ years of C development AND Linux experience
• Linux user space and kernel space programming experience
• Linux system programming
• Work experience with 8 / 32-bit microcontroller programming
• Experience with CAN, MODBUS, and high power systems software development.
• Source revision control (git, svn)
• Degree in Computer Science from a reputed institution
• Linux command line and development tools (e.g. shell script, Make, CMake, GDB, and GNU development tools)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Exposure to a full product development cycle.
• Programming experience in an object-oriented language (C++)
• Programming experience in a high-level language (e.g. Python)
• Knowledge of common Linux system calls, kernel interfaces, Linux device drivers, and configuration.
• Exposure to multi-processor product architecture.
• Experience in open source components and libraries (e.g. libxml, glib, qt, dbus, OpenSSL, curl, etc)
• Experience with Level2 AC EV chargers and/or DC fast chargers.
• Experience OR Knowledge with standards ISO 15118-2
•  Add "8 bit / 16 bit / 32 bit microcontroller experience, specially ARM"